Closet Worshippers Unite
by The Evil Carlita
Summary: The Dazzler comes to town, and Logan takes the kids to see the concert. Why does this spell disaster? And how does Hydra fit into all this? And why does only Jamie get a guitar? Set between Ghost of a Chance and Ascension
1. Things Come Together

Disclaimer: X-Men is property of Marvel

This is the first of the "lost episodes," and it is set after "Ghost of a Chance" and before both parts of "Ascension." Wolverine has killed Viper, X-23 is still missing, Xavier and Storm are around, but Magneto and Mystique are gone. Got it?

* * *

"Please, Logan? Oh, pretty please?" Amara begged. Her hands were clasped in front of her as she followed Logan about the house, begging him to go the concert. "Come on, Logan. All you have to do is drive us; you don't even have to come inside if you don't want to . Tabby and I: we're the only one's that want to go, and you know Xavier won't let her drive anymore. Please?"

Logan rolled his eyes. "Who was it you wanted to go see again? N'Sync? Or maybe that whiny Britney Spears character?"

Amara made a face, obviously appalled. "No! Why would I want to go see them? Their music sucks. This concert is going to be so much better than anything they could manage."

"Not what you were saying last week, kid," he muttered, picking up the sports section of the newspaper.

Amara harrumphed a bit, but then decided to not get defensive (especially since she had nothing to defend herself with), so she just answered his earlier question. "She calls herself Dazzler, and I hear she puts on the best light show in the business. Better than the lights, she's an amazing singer, and she doesn't lip-sync during her concerts. And she's performing tonight, and I just have to see her!" She smiled at Logan sweetly, trying to win his favor, then added, "Tabitha wants to, too," in hopes that this one fact may sway him.

"Nope, sorry kid," Logan replied, not even looking up from the newspaper. "I'm not letting you two go alone, and I don't want to sit through any bubble gum pop show. Now run along. We can have a training session instead after dinner; I know how you kids always enjoy those."

Glaring, Amara turned, kicking the floor as she walked away. "Great," she muttered, "no concert, and a training session instead. What a gyp." She then proceeded to stomp up the stairs, looking for Tabitha so she could tell her the bad news. Maybe her friend could be more persuasive with Logan.

Logan smiled as he heard the loud clomps of Amara's stomping. Looking around, he put the sports section down and picked up the living section. He knew that is was really no big deal, but he preferred that no one in the mansion know that he read the funnies in the newspaper. It might make him seem soft. Flipping through the pages he came upon a large ad with the word "DAZZLER" printed on the top. Sighing, he decided that the least he could do for the kid was read up a bit on the show. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad...

"'Tonight, live at the amphitheater, the amazing Dazzler makes her first ever Bayville performance. Features a wonderful set that compliments Alison Blaire's...'" Logan stopped here, then went back to make sure he read the name right. He did. Alison Blaire? He knew that name from somewhere. Standing, he went to the answering machine and played back a message he had gotten about a week and a half ago. "- know we haven't spoken much. I doubt if you even remember me. I know things about you though, Logan. Or should I say Wolverine? My name is Alison Blaire, and I used to be-"

The message cut off there, beeping to show that Alison had run out of time. She hadn't called back to finish her message. He thought it was a hoax; someone who put together his codename and his real name and was just trying to get close to a mutant celebrity. But here she was again, and she was a celebrity in her own right. Maybe she was genuine? Maybe-

His thoughts were interrupted, though, as the kitchen door was slammed open, and a perturbed Tabitha came strolling in with Amara not too far behind.

"What do you mean you don't trust us at a concert alone?" Tabitha started immediately. "We can take care of ourselves, you know. We're not normal little girls; we wouldn't let anyone jump us or anything."

"I'm not worried about you two getting hurt," Logan replied, "I'm worried about everyone else. You two can be dangerous." He smirked at them with this, showing he was joking, even though he wasn't too sure about that himself.

Tabitha crossed her arms, and Amara followed suit.

"But," Logan continued, raising his hands defensively, "we're going."

"We are?" Amara squealed, arms no longer crossed and a look of pure delight playing across her features.

"Yes, we are. We all are."

"We all?" Amara repeated, confused. Sure, there were three of them, but that really wasn't enough to constitute a "we all."

"Yeah," Logan went on. "All you new recruits will be coming. I actually scheduled this training session a while ago, and the older students are going to be out with Beast and Ororo and Xavier doing their own training, so I need to keep you all under my own watchful eye."

"Great," Amara muttered. "They'll probably be complaining the whole time, and they'll ruin the whole experience for me!"

Tabitha elbowed her playfully. "What are you talking about? Boys always add more fun to the picture. Just think, other guys see us with our five fellow male team mates, and they immediately see competition, and they immediately see a reason to fight even harder to win our attention!" Tabitha looked away from Amara to find Logan curling his lip at her, a very low growl emitting from his person. "Not that we're interested in boys! Oh no, not us!" she added, then grinned at him in a most unconvincing manner.

"Right, now you two go off and tell the others."

"Thank you!" they both squealed and hugged him. He bore it with a grimace, then watched as they scurried out to tell everyone. As soon as he was sure they were upstairs, he went back to the newspaper; he had to finish the funnies before anyone else got up and saw him.

"Wake up!" Amara yelled, jumping on Roberto's bed.

"Uhn...?" the boy groaned, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. "What's going on?"

"We're going to see Dazzler today!!" she cried, almost to the point of jumping with delight.

"Right…" Roberto muttered, rolling his eyes. "Why do I have to go? You're the one who likes her. Tabby doesn't even like her that much." He looked across his room to see Tabitha jump on top of Jamie to wake him up, producing a couple of clones that jumped up and ran away, squealing with mock fear.

Amara glared daggers at him before replying. "You have to go because Logan said so, and if you had any taste in music you would like her too!"

"Taste, yeah, you sure have got that," Roberto spat back. "You've been living in the present day for, what, four months? And suddenly you have taste in modern music?" He folded his arms, looking away disdainfully. "Please!"

Amara clenched her fists at her sides and glared even more. "Hmph!" she said, turning on her heel and walking out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Tabitha, giving Jamie a shove and Roberto a weird look, left with Amara.

Roberto smiled. "Yes! I got rid of her!" He then reached for the walkie-talkie next to his bed, and began talking into it.

"This is Silhouette to Country Boy! Can you read me Country Boy?"

"Yeah," a voice replied through the slight static. "I can hear you Roberto. What do you want? You woke me up!"

Roberto sighed, then stifled a laugh as he heard, in the background, Bobby yelling, "Use the code names Sam!"

"Yeah, fine, whatever," the voice yawned. "What the hell is going on, Silhouette?"

"We're going!"

"We're going where?" the voice asked sounding extremely apathetic.

"To the concert, that's where!"

"You're kidding! Yes- Shit! Get out!"

Roberto stared at his walkie-talkie, a look of perplexity across his face. "What's going on over there, Country Boy?"

He heard some muttering, and then: "Ah... I was dancing, and... uh... Tabitha opened the door. Very quickly."

"So?"

"Dude, I don't sleep with anything on!"

Roberto smirked at this, especially since he was able to clearly hear Bobby guffawing in the background. He heard Amara and Tabitha walking past his door, giggling incessantly. "Bad picture, man. Bad picture. Look, meet me down in the parlor. The girls are probably heading down to tell Ray now."

"Yeah," Sam replied. "I wonder what they're going to do to him. I'd also like to let you know that a few copies of your roommate have made their way over here."

Roberto looked over to see Jamie looking a little lethargic. "Well, better send them back, Country Boy. Jamie looks… incomplete"

"Copy that. Over and out."

"Over and out."

Roberto put down the walkie-talkie, sighed, then fell back onto his bed. They were going to see Dazzler!!

Downstairs, Roberto found Sam and Bobby waiting for him, and one Jamie bouncing around. Every now and then he would purposefully run into something, or into Sam, and a bunch of copies would fall out, laughing. Then Jamie would suck them back in, and start running again. They didn't have to wait much longer before Ray came down, grumbling.

"Girls wake you up?" Bobby asked Ray, a cocky grin on his face.

"Shut up," Ray retorted. Boom Boom seemed to enjoy a different approach to waking him than anyone else. Every morning she was lucky enough to get up before him, she would sneak into his room and explode some of her weaker bombs just inches above his face. It gave him a heart attack every time. When he got angry, though, she only joked that if his heart stopped he could easily resuscitate himself.

"So, is it really true?" Bobby asked, "Are we really going to see her?"

"Yeah," Roberto replied, grinning. All the boys then joined together in a circle, putting their hands in the middle.

"Closet worshippers unite," they said in unison, careful not to get too loud. The rest of the house was still getting ready for the day, and they didn't want to attract any attention.

Bobby cleared his throat. "As president and chairperson of this club, I declare this mission a success. I direct everyone's attention and applause to our key member: Shocker," all heads turned toward Ray, "who successfully slipped a Dazzler CD into Magma's collection."

The group quietly applauded.

"As vice president," Sam continued, "I also must ensure that we recognize Hydra," all heads now turned to Jamie, "who leaked information to Tabitha and Amara about the upcoming concert."

Again, they applauded. Roberto patted him on the back, making a couple of multiples, and Ray said, enthusiastically, "Good job kid."

Jamie had only joined a few weeks ago, so he was ready to prove himself to the others. He smiled his appreciation back at them, knowing they were trying to make him feel more welcome. They usually never did anything to accommodate him.

"Now," Bobby finished, "I must assign you all missions for the rest of the day. Namely: be good. Think you all can handle it?"

"The question, I think," Roberto replied, "is can you, Mister President?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I can. Now, meeting dismissed. Disperse."

With that, Jamie ran upstairs with Roberto and Sam, and Ray and Bobby went into the kitchen to find some breakfast.

When Ray and Bobby reached the kitchen, Wolverine quickly rustled through the papers, leaving them a mess. He could blame the section's disorderliness on Kurt later.

"I can't believe you're making us go see this concert with the girls," Bobby grumbled.

"Would you rather have a training session?" Wolverine asked, looking at the boys slyly.

"That's like comparing eating bugs to eating snails," Ray pointed out. "But I think we'll take the audio torture over the physical torture, thanks."

"Suit yourself," Wolverine said, turning his back to leave so he didn't see the two boys winking at each other.


	2. The Concert

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe we're actually here!" Amara trilled for the third time. The rest of her party knowingly and promptly put their hands to their ears as she emitted a scream of joy that tested both her vocal chords and the ear buds of everyone surrounding. Amara was, by far, the most enthusiastic person in their group. The boys looked as though they were about to throw up, Tabitha looked disappointed, and Wolverine had a determined look splashed across his face, though no one was quite sure what could motivate him.

On stage, Alison Blaire, otherwise known as Dazzler, was putting on an amazing show. Back-up dancers populated the stage as she gyrated while singing. Every now and then she would gesture with her hands to emphasize a downbeat, and an amazing light effect would light up the air.

Dazzler was an anomaly in the pop world. Already in her late thirties, she had no past fame to fall back on and bolster her career. She been present in the music scene for the past decade, yes, but she had never been as popular as she was now. It was strange, but looking at her past efforts it seemed that her heart had never really been into it. Now, however, her act was refined. Her singing reflected training, and her dancing was practiced to a point of fluidity that failed to betray the many hours she had spent practicing with her choreographer. She was a pop sensation now, and her name was on everyone lips, making her almost as high profile as Madonna.

"I can't believe I'm actually here," Tabitha echoed Amara, but with ample depression evident in her voice.

"What are you talking about?" Wolverine asked gruffly, not sounding too interested in the answer to the question. "You were practically threatening me earlier today when you wanted to come here."

Tabitha rolled her eyes huffily. "Can't we just forget my past mistakes? Look, I made a _huge_ error. There are practically no boys here! And the ones who are here are either attached to a girl or another boy… this totally sucks." Tabby folded her arms angrily, obviously not impressed with the raucous up on stage.

"I thought you said you weren't interested in boys," Logan replied, suppressing a grin for the sake of his own sanity.

"Yeah? And I thought you didn't care enough about a bunch of kids to take them to a concert that you're obviously not enjoying." At this, Tabitha threw an arm around her mentor. "You know, you really are getting soft." Then she laughed and removed the arm, deciding that she might as well pretend to enjoy being there. After all, there was a fine line between acting and reality.

Logan shook his head sadly. He almost wished that he had taken the kids here just so they could have a good time. They all deserved it; the training sessions since Apocalypse's appearance had been brutal. It was for their own good, but whenever Jamie or Amara were left near to tears, Logan wondered if he was taking it too far. They were just kids, after all.

Kids with raging hormones, apparently.

"Can you see alright?" Bobby asked, sidling up next to Amara. The standing room where they were wasn't too crowded, as most concert-goers had opted for seats, but Amara was still having to get up on her tip-toes to try and see around the rare tall boy escorting his girlfriend.

"Sometimes," Amara giggled, then groaned, frustrated, as a tall girl filled the gap between heads that Amara had been looking through. Sam, who had been watching as Amara was thwarted again and again, stepped forward to offer his help, but before he had a chance to speak up, Bobby did.

"Hey, why don't you get on my shoulders?" he offered. Sam, a little taken aback, hid his surprise and pretended he had never stopped watching the concert (which he was also pretending to vaguely dislike, as the Closet Worshippers constitution decreed).

"I don't know," Amara replied warily. "Don't you think I'll be too heavy?"

"Too heavy? Are you kidding?" Bobby laughed. "After carrying Sam on my shoulders a couple of times, no one can be too heavy!" Amara giggled at this, and nodded to consent.

In the hustle and bustle of getting Amara up onto Bobby's shoulders (she somehow had less grace than Sam), everyone in the group took notice.

"Hey, I can't see very well either," Tabitha announced loudly, to no one in particular.

"I thought you weren't enjoying the concert," Logan growled lowly, an amused smirk on his face.

"I might as well be able to see what I'm enjoying," she hissed, allowing no one else to hear but Logan. "Ray," she purred, turning toward the boy who she knew eyed her every time she left a room., "do you think I could get up on your shoulders?"

Jamie chose that moment to speak up, "I can't see at all!"

"Deal with it, pipsqueak," Ray said, messing up Jamie's hair before allowing Tabitha to get up on his shoulders.

"That's not fair! So what, I have to have boobs in order to get noticed?" He made a disgusted face. "Girls are gross!"

"Just wait until you're older, Jamie," Roberto sighed. "You'll understand. Or you won't, and you'll just play along anyway. It's what we're supposed to do."

"Not me! I'm never going to like girls like that. It's stupid and makes people act weird. I mean, weirder than usual. Weird without a reason. Or, at least, weird for a stupid reason!"

"I'll remember those words. Trust me, you'll regret saying them. One way or another, you will start to get interested in girls in that way. Or in boys, whatever. It's the way things are." Grinning, Roberto also messed up Jamie's already tasseled hair.

"And I like it that way!" Tabitha chimed in, laughing happily atop Ray's shoulders and acting like she had just made a conquest. The taller boy beneath her swayed lightly under her erratic motions, and grumbled to Bobby, who was also chuckling like he had made a conquest. On his shoulders, Amara was laughing gleefully to the music while Sam, almost at Amara's height, sighed morosely. Logan was the only one to notice, and assumed it was the rather annoying music of the concert that was getting to the boy, much it the same way it was getting to him. With a final grunt, Logan pushed the thought out of his mind and hoped that meeting with Allison Blaire would be worth all this torture

The concert ended with a great finale that consisted of a note held for an extremely long time followed by an explosion of lights that practically blinded the crowd, and Dazzler was gone. Everyone in the audience stayed for another five minutes shouting for an encore until it became obvious that she was not going to give them one. Disappointed, the crowd began to clear out. The X-kids all turned to Logan, waiting for some indication that they were leaving, but he seemed inclined to stay put.

Once almost everyone had filed out, he finally spoke up. "Well, I suppose she'll be ready now, let's head in." the students all looked at him quizzically.

"What?" Jamie said.

"I just heard some crazy talk," Tabitha added from atop Ray, as she had still not relinquished her new stronghold. Amara, however, had her feet firmly planted on the ground again, and also looked very confused.

"Logan, what are you talking about?" she asked.

"Oh, ah, we get to go backstage," he blurted out. "I know Allison- err… Dazzler… kind of."

There was silence, save the few concert goers still making their way out. It was pierced, however, before it could be fully enjoyed by those whose ears buzzed from the show, by a screech emitted by Amara.

"Oh! My! GAWD! Are you serious?" She was in a frenzy, ignoring the fact that she was going to regret her unregulated reaction later.

The boys were doing a much better job of containing their excitement, but barely. It was easily to tell that they were excited about meeting Allison Blaire, a fact that they would prefer to hide from persons such as Tabitha and Logan.

Swinging her legs around, Tabitha vaulted off of Ray, causing him to stumble a bit and glare at her, rubbing his neck. "Logan, are you sure you know Dazzler? I mean, this is really weird. You're out of touch with stuff like this, I mean."

"Look," he replied, glaring. "I know her and now you kids get to meet her, so you can either come back stage with me, or you can go wait in the van." With that he stalked off toward an entrance blocked by a security guard. Shrugging, the rest of the kids followed him. Amara led them, a giddy look and a smile plastered on her face.

Logan reached the guard, who asked for his name.

"Logan."

Checking over his list, the guard shook his head, and motioned for them to leave.

"Okay," Logan growled, shaking his head, "try 'Wolverine'"

The guard looked again, and then motioned that they all could enter. Wolverine stalked in, and Bobby ran to catch up so he could talk to Logan. "Wolverine? She knows you're Wolverine? How does a pop star know about your not-all-that-secret identity. Are we about to end up in the middle of something bad… you know, like usual?"

"Look kid," Logan replied, "I'd appreciate you leaving me alone. I have some business to take care of, and you kids to look after. I don't really need to explain myself so long as no one ends up maimed, right?"

"Sure…" Bobby fell back, giving Tabitha and Ray a look that let them know they needed to be on alert.

They were all led into a room that had a star on the door, and was obviously Allison's dressing room. Bobby was ready for anything. He was prepared. He knew what happened when Wolverine's past came for a visit, and he wasn't going to be caught off guard. His future embarrassment at fainting at the sight of the Dazzler was total understandable.


	3. Bobby Did What?

-1"Hello?… Earth to Bobby! Wake up you dork!" Tabitha was bent over Bobby's prone body. Luckily, Sam had been able to catch and slow the boy before he slammed into the ground, but chances were that Bobby would have a small bruise on his head to accompany his massively bruised ego.

"Euh?" Bobby moaned, his eyes fluttering as he rubbed his head.

Tabitha smiled and shook her head. "There you go, buddy. You need to be awake when I mock you. It's no fun to accuse you of anything if you're not alert enough to deny them, you boy-band-loving, hair-product-using, Dazzler-worshipping pansy." Tabitha smirked happily. Evidently the few minutes that she had to wait in order to get that out of her system had been too long. "Amara went to get you some water, by the way. Evidently you hero survives only on coffee and liquor. She's probably a smoker too," she commented. "I've heard that helps to keep the weight down."

Glaring, Bobby sat up. "Will you please **shut up**," he said to the girl, deliberately and as menacingly as he could manage.

"Dude, that really was weak…" Sam said, stifling a chuckle. He and the rest of the boys were standing around, watching Bobby. All but Jamie and Logan. Dazzler wasn't anywhere in sight either.

Trying not to seem too eager, Bobby casually asked, "Hey, um… where'd Allison go? I mean, she was here when… when I…"

"When you swooned like your corset was a bit too tight? Yes, she was," Tabitha replied. "She took Logan aside to talk, and Jamie followed them like a puppy dog." She looked around at the others. "You guys need to give him a few more lessons on what it means to worship in the closet…"

The was a small silence before Roberto spoke up, saying tersely, "What did you just say?"

"Oh, come on, guys. You can't expect something like that to stay a secret! Especially when you have your meetings in the foyer, of all places."

"Who else knows?" Sam asked, sounding quite embarrassed.

"I don't know. I haven't told anyone else, but like a said, if you have your meeting in the foyer, you're just inviting people into your little secret club. If you were smart, you'd having the meeting in a closet… it would give a little more meaning to the name of your club, instead of just making it sound slightly homosexual."

Ray kept his eyes on the ground. He had never really thought the club was a good idea; it was just somewhat amusing. And now… here went his reputation. He would be a joke in Tabby's eyes from now on. "Just… don't tell anyone else, okay?" he said, finally.

"Geez," Tabitha replied, grinning faintly. "You guys are taking this a lot harder than I thought. Look, people do silly things all the time. It's not like you do this and all of a sudden you're not men anymore, right? Just, get over yourselves. If you really don't want me to, I won't tell anyone. Unless the perfect situation comes along… you know, I can't really resist that-"

"Tabby!" Bobby interrupted her, glaring even more. "You've known for a while, haven't you? You never liked Dazzler's music, but you helped Amara talk Logan into coming here nonetheless." His look suddenly softened. "Thanks…"

Tabitha looked surprised. "Um, you're wel-"

"Thanks, even though I know you just did it because you hoped it would produce some situation like this. Even though I'm sure that it wasn't good intentions that made you do it, but some evil little voice in the back of your head that makes you do… what you do."

Tabitha nodded, weighing his words in her head, and they sounded about right. But all of a sudden, she felt guilty that they were right. Her father had abused her; she had run away from the Institute; when Mystique turned her away from the Brotherhood, none of the boys had spoken up in her favor, no one had tried to help her. But Xavier had taken her back. Sure, she wasn't allowed to train for the team anymore, and she had been pressured to get a part-time job, but Xavier had shown her more kindness than her father by far. And now, these, in a way, were her new siblings. She had a chance to genuinely make connections. She was used to the superficial, to the flashy, to the relationships that progressed to "You're my best friend!" one day to "Rot in hell, bitch." the next.

Amara. Amara was a friend. Their camaraderie had started as fake as any other, but had really progressed, and Tabitha trusted that girl with her deepest thoughts… well, not quite. In any case, she felt she could be trusted with Amara's deepest thoughts.

But now here were these boys. She had something on them. Something that would be fun for her, but evidently hurtful toward them.

Making her decision, Tabitha raised her chin proudly, and said, a determined air to her voice, "You're welcome."

In an instant the boys seemed to collapse in sighs of relief. Bobby laughed nervously, while Ray smiled fully, throwing an arm around Tabitha and pulling her into a half-hug.

"Geez, 'Shocker,'" she laughed out. "It's not like I'm joining your little club or anything. In fact, I'm just going to pretend that it doesn't exist… unless you guys are doing anything cool. If you do anything cool, you have to include me, or the entire deal is off."

"Fine, fine," the boys all agreed, just before Amara's arrival, bottle of water in hand.

"You okay, Bobby," she asked, handing the water to him.

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the water; very sweet. Now, let's go find Logan and get out of here!"

A little earlier

"Well, isn't that unfortunate," Allison said casually as Bobby slumped to the ground, laughing lightly despite the utter absence of a smile on her face. "You lot can look after him, right?" she asked, indicating the rest of the kids, who nodded absently, speechless in the presence of a star and befuddled by the behavior of their friend. "Great! Then your little friend Logan and I are going to have a talk, and you can come along as soon as he's… well. Don't hurry!" With that, she took Logan by the arm and steered him away, looking for somewhere more private to talk.

Unfazed by Bobby's fainting spell, Jamie followed Allison, his eyes wide with admiration. Allison noticed him as soon as they left the dressing room.

Addressing Logan, she said, "Erm, does he have to come with us. Shouldn't he stay with his friends?"

Logan considered for a moment. "I'm supposed to be watching after the kids. Least I can do is keep the youngest one in my sight. Xavier doesn't really let me keep too many secrets from the kids anyway, so you can say whatever you need to say to me in front of him.

Rolling her eyes slightly, Dazzler managed a dignified, consenting harrumph, then led him into a second dressing room, which seemed to belong to her dancers. Signaling to them, they all filed out, leaving Allison, Logan, and Jamie alone.

"Here," Allison said, handing Jamie a guitar that she had casually picked up as they were walking down to the dressing room. Reaching into her pocket, she produced a pick. "You can have it," she told him, coldly. "Why don't you go over there, into that corner, and practice?"

"Are, are you serious?" Jamie asked incredulously. He looked at his new guitar with pride, and at Allison with gratitude. He looked torn, though, between fawning over Allison and playing with his new present. When she motioned for him to move along he finally made up his mind, and skedaddled out of earshot.

"You sure are putting a lot of effort into talking to me alone," was the first thing that Logan said.

"Oh, please. Music stores give me guitars for free all the time, hoping that I'll play them onstage sometime and they'll get some good press. I could give all the kids guitars, if I wanted to." Allison then transferred from her cold, detached manners to one that were much more serious. "I thought I should let you know that you were successful. Viper is dead, finally?"

"What?" Logan replied, surprised. "You know?…" Obviously she knew. No use acting all surprised. "It wasn't me. X-23-"

"Ah, so the girl was responsible. I doubted that you had enough of a grudge against the woman to kill her. Or at least, enough of a grudge that you remembered." She smirked at that, causing Logan's eyebrows to furrow in the beginnings of anger. "Sorry, sorry," she added quickly. "It's just, you know, the businesses we've been involved with are well known for not allowing any of their operatives to leave with any kind of incriminating knowledge."

"You're involved?"

Allison nodded, barely concealing pride. "I was one of HYDRA's best operatives… right behind that bruit Omega Red. God, was he obsessed with you," she said, then paused. "Still is, from what I hear."

Logan started slightly. This was stupid, all this banter. She obviously had information for him; information that could mean danger for him and the rest of the kids. "What do you hear?"

"He blames you for everything, you know. Or, you don't know, whichever. He would go after the child if he knew that she was responsible for the death of his Madame Hydra. Do you know where she is? You should be protecting her."

Shaking his head, Logan replied, "No, she's on the run. You know how it is, I assume. You can't stop running… can't give up the head start."

"There's only so many places she can run to… they'll… he'll get her eventually, you know. You should keep her at the Institute. It would be safe for her there."

"Hey, I'm not going to tell the girl what to do. I wouldn't know where to start looking for her myself, even if I thought that bringing her to the Institute was the best thing to do."

Allison suddenly softened. "Logan," she said, quietly, "how do you think that little monster came into this world?" her eyes dropped, regretfully. "Please, don't let them get a hold of my little girl again…"

Realizing what she was talking about, Logan couldn't believe it. They had made one of their operatives… it was disgusting. Even more disgusting than the things they had done to him… or imagined that they had done to him. "I'll find her," he said, conviction evident in his voice. "She'll be safe at Xavier's. I'll make sure she gets there."

"Oh, Logan… I promise to do whatever I can, with whatever little pull I have left, to keep what's left of these people out of your life. You and the girl… you can try to have a normal life."

He let out a short laugh. "Yeah, that's not going to have. 'Specially not at the Institute. She'll be safe, but she'll never have a normal life."

"But she'll be safe, and she-"

Allison was interrupted by the door being thrown open. "Holy Moses in a matchbook, I don't think you guys could have hidden yourselves better if you tried! We had to ask all these people, and then they started to look suspicious, and I had to threaten them to get in here." Tabitha finally took a breath, and strode into the dressing room, followed by the rest of the gang.

Amara, looking a little guilty, added, "She used me to threaten them…"

Logan rolled his eyes. "Look kids, it's about time we get out of here anyway. I'm sure if you ask nicely Allison will give you all autographs.

"Cool," Tabitha said, approaching Allison. The others filed in behind her, trying not to look to eager.

"Hey, Bobby, how you feeling," Logan said, motioning the kid over to him.

"Fine, fine," Bobby said quickly. "Just low blood sugar or something. You know, the heat of a concert and all that. I'm fine."

"Good to hear. Why don't you go grab Jamie and let him know we're about to head out. He'll probably want Allison to sign that guitar."

Bobby looked shocked. "The squirt got a _guitar_!"

"Yeah, yeah, life's not fair, I know. Just go get him, and then save up your allowance for your own."

Not hiding his disappointment, Bobby stomped over to Jamie, refusing to look at the guitar as he told the kid that it was time to go. Making his way back to Allison, Bobby was handed an autographed portrait as Tabitha was begging to have another because she was a "really big fan."

"Tabby…" Logan warned, grabbing her by the shoulder and steering her away from the pop star. He stopped suddenly, however, his nose twitching and a low growl emanating from his person.

"Um… Badger? What's wrong."

Turning to face the back wall of the dressing room, Logan issued his commands. "Kids, get out of here, now. Get to the X-Van. Take Allison with you. Tabitha and Amara, you make sure that Jamie stays with the rest of you, alright?"

"Logan, what's going on," Amara asked, sounding worried. The others were looking a little nervous too. If Logan was getting ready to fight, which he definitely was, then something was really wrong.

"I said, get out of here!" Logan snarled, but he was too late. The wall he was glaring at intensely crumbled, ripped apart by some metallic tentacles. As the dust cleared, the shape of a large man could be made out, his yellow hair tied up on the top of his head, and his forearms the source of the tentacles.

"Omega Red," Allison whispered, barely audible.

Logan faced his opponent stoically. "Yeah, I know. Smelled him coming. You kids leaving or what?"


	4. Fight Scene

Wolverine and Omega Red stood there, silently measuring the other one. What are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? They'd squared off with each other before, in fact, many times before, but Wolverine only remembered the most recent. Omega Red definitely had the upper hand at that.

Then again, Wolverine wasn't alone. Behind him stood his students, who he had told to leave, but who were also ignoring him. Bobby, leading them, had his spine straight and his shoulders back. He had seen more action than the rest of them, and was overly confident to boot. Close behind him were Roberto and Boom Boom, eager to see some action, while the others stood further back, waiting for orders. Amara looked particularly wary. Not just scared, but apprehensive about her powers. A little while back she had lost control and almost destroyed a village. She didn't want to be the destructive girl that her powers seemed to have determined that she should be.

"You coward," Omega Red spit at Wolverine. "You think you can use the children to save yourself? They are nothing; this fight is to be between you and I, old friends that we are."

Logan growled at Omega Red, but turned his attention backward. Sensing the readiness of some of his students, he uttered an order, "Stay cool."

Smirking, Bobby jumped forward saying, "Cooler than cool," and proceeded to encapsulate Omega Red in an ice block. The room was tense for a moment; Ray, Tabitha, Roberto, and Wolverine had all run forward as they saw what Bobby was doing, expecting Omega Red to resist. As he loomed there, frozen, seemingly stopped, Tabitha, Amara, and Jamie breathed a sigh of relief, and Tabitha turned to gloat to Allison; or, at least, help Bobby gloat. She didn't get a chance, though, as she heard a crackling from behind her, and gasps coming from the people all around her.

Spinning quickly, she saw that Omega Red's tendrils were snaking through the ice, shearing it into large pieces so that he would soon be free. Quickly arming herself with six of the strongest time bombs she could muster, Tabitha hurled them at their Russian attacker. Simultaneously, Ray's eyes flashed as he let loose a large amount of energy toward Omega Red. The light and sparks of his attack made their way up one of his tendrils, and he let loose a howl of fury as the time bombs exploded in his face, driving him backward. It was only for a second, though, and soon he was lunging forward, one tendril catching Ray across the chest, throwing him against a dressing mirror. He slumped to the ground among the tinkling of glass, and Jamie ran forward, creating a couple of multiples to help him take Ray away from the fight.

Meanwhile, Omega Red had turned his attentions toward Tabitha, who was continuing to generate time bombs, but they were becoming weaker and weaker as she lost her concentration. He sent a tendril flying toward her, but it was interrupted by Roberto, who had jumped forward and was holding it back, using the energy he had stored up from his last time in the sun. A fiery silhouette, he was the first to speak since Iceman had frozen the Russian.

"Logan!" he cried. The Canadian had been preoccupied trying to get close enough to Omega Red to cut the man with his claws. The tendril that had taken Ray out was snaking its way after him, threatening to capture the man. When Logan heard his name, however, he moved with an amazing burst of speed and proceeded to amputate the tendril as close to the base as he could, causing Omega Red to scream in wrath, and finally manage to capture Wolverine with his other tendril, wrapping it around the man until he was immobile.

Tabitha, helping Roberto across the room after he had collapsed from exhaustion, dropped him where she was, and called Magma into action. "Amara! Come on, girl! He has Badger!!"

Her friend's call for assistance seemed to snap Amara out of it, and she ran forward, hands held up and already supporting sizable fireballs. Tabitha produced her own time bombs, and they began bombarding the man, who seemed to be in retreat. In only a few seconds he would be out the hole that he had made in the wall…

"Bobby!" Amara yelled.

"On it," he replied, calmly but quickly, and he touched his hand to the floor, sending tendrils of ice snaking outwards until they reached the wall, where they climbed up made a thick wall of ice blocking Omega Red's exit. Reaching the wall, the man banged against it with his fist, then turned to growl at the students. There was another exit to the room: through them.

"Oh… shit," Tabitha muttered, arming herself again, hoping that she and Amara could hold him off. Maybe Bobby could build a wall? Sam could-

Amara interrupted Tabby's thoughts, though, as she issued another order. "Bobby! Ice the floor! Just under Omega Red!"

"Got it," he said, as he again touched the floor, this time making a thin layer of ice underneath Omega Red.

"Now, Tabby!" Amara directed, and Tabby and Amara each began throwing their own weapons. Omega Red was thrown back by the bursts and the fireballs, slipping and tumbling on the almost-frictionless ice sheet that he was standing on.

"Good call, girl!" Tabitha yelled happily. But… now what? They couldn't keep him down forever, and she certainly didn't think they could take him out. Bobby could freeze him again… but he had Logan, and besides, he would just crack the ice the way he had last time. Ray was out, but could come back, Roberto was definitely out, Jamie definitely couldn't be sent in, and Sam…

"Yo, Cannonball!" Tabitha called. "What do you think you're doing? Get in here! Knock this guy out!" Sam had been hanging back. He couldn't be any use without getting close, and he did not want to get close to this guy. But… but he couldn't just stand off to the side and let the ladies fight his battles.

"Yeah, I'm comin', I'm comin'" he said, trying a bit of banter in his nervousness, then took off, propelling himself forward as fast as could, and aiming straight at the chest of Omega Red. His timing was poor, however, and Omega Red slipped and fell just in time to avoid being hit by Sam, sending the boy cannonballing toward the wall of ice. "Argh!" he cried out as he smashed into it, breaking it apart and leaving the way out wide open for Omega Red.

"Thanks, comrade," he said, standing with Wolverine still in his grasp.

"Bobby!" Logan growled, while frantically trying to free himself enough to get his claws back into service. "Bobby, hurry up and get that ice wall back up! Don't let him-"

Logan was cut off by Allison's voice. "Everyone, close your eyes!" She looked at them as they all looked back at her, confused. "I mean it, now!!" Baffled, but understanding that the command in her voice meant she knew what she was doing, they all followed orders. All but Sam, who, taking aim, launched himself at Wolverine, who was still held tight in the clutches of Omega Red. Upon impact, Sam closed his eyes, as ordered, but it was too late. A blinding flash filled the room, causing Sam to call out. The others saw the flash too, from behind their eyelids.

As soon as they all sensed that it was gone they opened their eyes. Tabitha, Amara, and Bobby were all standing together, at the ready, on the edge of the stage of ice that Bobby had created. Ray was making his way to his feet with the help of Jamie, and Roberto was slouched on the ground, trying to get over a fit of dizziness that had hit him. Allison had her hands by her sides and was standing, calmly not too far behind Amara and the others. Sprawled together on the ice floor were Sam and Logan. Omega Red was nowhere in sight.

Snarling, Wolverine jumped to his feet. "You let him get away!" he howled, and started to run through the hole in the ice that Sam had created, through which Omega Red had obviously retreated.

"Logan! No, please," Amara cried after him, and he stopped. Sheathing his claws, he walked back toward the students. As much as he hated it, the fight would have to be saved for another day. Another day where he wouldn't be putting the students in danger. Then, he might not have made it without them. In fact, if he hadn't been for Sam, who had knocked him hard enough that he was able to get free, he might have been carried off in Omega Red's clutches.

How you holdin' up?" he asked everyone, looking around.

"Nothing broken," Ray replied, trying a laugh, but wincing instead. Jamie laughed for him.

"Just need some sleep, myself," Roberto added. "I think that the mirror and the wall got off a lot worse than any of us." Amara and Tabitha giggled at this, making Roberto smile with pleasure.

"Okay, that's it, then. We're out of here," Logan said. "You kids have had enough excitement for one night.

The kids all nodded, too worn out from the excitement of the fight to question where the blinding flash had come from at the end. Jamie made two multiples, figuring that triplets wouldn't be too hard for anyone who saw them later to believe. The multiples helped Ray, while he retrieved his guitar from where he had placed it at the beginning of the fight.

Amara stepped forward and offered Roberto her hand, helping him up and holding him, while Tabitha came in on the other side, and together they supported him. There were no cries of victory, no emotions of victory even. Omega Red had not been defeated… just run away. Nothing to celebrate.

Bobby and Sam took up the rear, following the other new recruits out, and expecting Logan to come straight after them. He stayed for a few seconds, however, to speak with Allison.

"That flash," he said. "None of my kids can do anything like that, unless Amara or Ray have been hiding something from me. You told us to close our eyes… you're…?" He trailed off, letting her talk.

"A mutant," she finished for him. "You don't think that I could get where I was in Hydra without something like that, do you? It's useful in this business too." She smiled faintly at this. Logan grunted in response, and loped out of the room, following his students. This meeting had been… informative.

Allison's smile disappeared as soon as Logan left the dressing room, turning into a scowl. "Get in here, you fool!" she commanded. Looking somewhat guilty, Omega Red came back into the room, through the hole in the ice. Stepping carefully, he made his way across the slippery, wet, icy floor, and stopped before Dazzler, his head down.

"Imbecile!" she screeched. "Firstly, I did not give you the signal. He doesn't know where she is; he's a dead end. Second, you couldn't even get him!" Dazzler shook herself in frustration. "You are supposed to be the pinnacle of the living weaponry, and you can't even handle yourself against a bunch of kids. They made a fool of you. Now, away. Rejoin Gauntlet and continue your search. We'll have to wait even longer to retrieve the girl."

Nodding and bowing slightly, Omega Red responded, "Yes, Madame Hydra." He then quickly made his retreat.

Dazzler watched him leave, then sighed in frustration, turning and falling into a chair in front of one of the dressing mirrors. Holding her forehead in her hands, she stared at her reflection. The crows feet around her eyes were beginning to become more pronounced… she would need a trip to the spa soon. She had no idea how Viper had handled the stress before.

Then, shaking her head, she slammed her fists against the desks, and the air around her crackled with her light powers. She _had _ to recover the girl. She was all that Hydra had worked on for years. If they lost her, then Hydra was nothing. And what was the point in being the Madame of nothing?

A/N: I reposted this chapter with a few changes, mostly spelling. Read and Review, and get ready for the last chapter (coming soon, I promise), and then the start of the next story: Jamie and the Argonauts. Also, check out the homepage to learn more about X-Men Evo and Ultimate Marvel, and see fanart and the like.


	5. Ready for War

"Allison Blaire, you say? Hm… someone in a high profile, such as her, could really help the public's perception of mutants." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Do you think that there is a way that you could arrange a meeting-"

"No," Logan said, flatly but decidedly. "Did you not listen to the rest of the story? She's tied up with Hydra somehow. I guarantee you that if we pursue her, we're only going to be inviting more attacks from Omega Red and whatever other operatives may be mad about the death of Viper."

"I heard you, Logan. There is nothing that suggests that she still has dealings with Hydra, however. In fact, you said yourself that she helped to drive him away."

"… or get away."

Xavier locked eyes with his pacing friend. "Are you certain that was her intention?"

"That's not the point! Whatever Allison is, she shouldn't be invited here. She has some of the same connections I have, and that's just not safe to have around. I put the kids in danger, Chuck. Again. I'm starting to think hanging around here isn't such a good idea anymore. I mean, I can handle Sabretooth, but I can't be responsible for anything Hydra may do…"

"Logan, you should know we don't hold you responsible. You have a home here, and you're safer-"

"But you're not! I just, I can't let anyone else get hurt. We're looking at hostage situations, mindless slayings… I don't know! I don't know what these people are capable of, and I don't know what they want from me. I can't predict when they're next going to attack, and I can't prepare the kids for anything that big! I can't expect them to face anything like this, and they shouldn't have to."

Charles Xavier hung his head. He had to admit, when one did think of the situation rationally and objectively, this man was more of a liability than an asset. Then again, he had proved himself to be a caring man, and he was part of the family at the Xavier Institute. The students all loved him… or, they did when he wasn't in the middle of teaching them a lesson in the Danger Room.

Sighing, Xavier spoke up again. "I can't force you to stay, Logan. I can, however, tell you that if you were to leave, you would be deeply missed. I also must say that I'm surprised that you would consider abandoning the children when we are about to face the biggest challenge of our lives. Apocalypse is still out there, preparing to make his move. When the time comes to fight, I always assumed you'd be standing in our ranks, as one of the X-Men. We need you for that."

Logan snorted disdainfully. "For that, yeah." Shaking his head, he stomped out of the room, stopping at the door. "I stay until this Apocalypse thing is dealt with, then I'm out of here. I have to finish this business on my own."

Xavier sighed again, while nodding his head. "Fair enough. Just… know that you're always welcome here. We're a family, and family accepts whatever baggage you may have, no matter how dangerous."

"Right," Logan muttered on the way out the door. "Tell that to Rhane's parents."

Sam walked into his and Bobby's room, consciously slamming the door behind him in an attempt to attract Bobby's attention. The other boy, though, was at work on his computer, feverishly typing away and clicking with his mouse. Sam cleared his throat loudly, but it too was to no avail, and so he sighed heavily and collapsed onto his bed.

"Oh, hey Sam," Bobby said off-handedly, finally noticing his friend's presence.

"Hi," Sam replied, but his voice was muffled by the pillow that he had his face firmly pressed into.

A few minutes passed with Bobby still madly clicking and typing, and Sam lying on his bed in a defeat he hoped was apparent to his friend, but Bobby never even looked his way to register the despair.

Finally, groaning, Sam rolled over, propping himself up on his elbows. Watching his roommate for a few seconds, he finally spoke up. "Bobby, the hell you doin'?"

Bobby painfully tore his eyes away from the screen and turned to Sam. "Sirens' research, what else? I know I can figure out who they are if I just-"

"Geez, Bobby. Give it up already!" Sam said, shaking his head and laughing in a condescending manner. "I don't know why you're so obsessed with these girls anyway. I mean, at the concert… I thought you had a thing for Amara."

Bobby had turned back to his computer and replied, off-handedly. "She's cute. I wouldn't really call it a thing, but I'm thinking about asking her out."

"Oh?" Sam could barely hide his disappointment.

"Yeah. I mean, I can't just sit around here and wait for Jubilee's parents to let her come back to the Institute. Besides, we were more friends than anything else. I miss having someone to flirt with, and Amara… I mean, she's fun."

"Yeah, I know," Sam said, fighting the urge to hang his head. "Fun."

"Hey!" Bobby exclaimed, spinning around away from his computer. "If you and Tabby got together, we could totally do double dates!"

Sam cocked his eyebrow confusedly. "Tabby? But she's… well, you know. Insane."

Bobby considered this for only a moment before agreeing. "Yeah, she's insane. But, the fun kind of insane. And _double dates_, man."

"I don' know, Bobby. Tabby an' I… we would never work out. I mean, not only is she insane, but I get the feeling I'm just not enough man for her."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Who said anything about working out? Dating is supposed to be about fun, remember? Not commitment. I mean, we're still high schoolers! And Tabby… there's someone fun."

Sam didn't know what to think. He couldn't help the way he felt… and it wasn't warm and fuzzy toward Tabitha. "… and Amara?"

Bobby shrugged his shoulders. "Like I told you, it's about having fun. She's cute, and luckily I'm fun enough for the both of us."

"Right…" Sam said, standing and getting ready to leave. He felt like he'd just learned something about his roommate that he wished he hadn't. "I'm gonna go find Ray or something. Have fun with your research…" Bobby shrugged and complied with Sam's suggestion, and Sam left his room feeling even more confused than when he first entered.

He felt angry and sad at the same time. If Bobby had his eyes on Amara, what kind of chance did he stand? But then, how could Bobby think that he could just play with Amara and then drop her when he was tired of her? The girl deserved so much more than that… she was so pretty, so genuine, so kind. She deserved a guy that realized all that and wanted to treat her like the princess she was. She deserved-

"Hey, Sam, want to do your best girl-friend a favor?!" Tabitha hollered from the second floor landing. Sam was at the bottom of the stairs, making his way to the rec room to see if there was anyone to hang out with in there.

"What kind of favor?" he drawled, trying not to admit to himself that Tabitha was one of the few people who he had hoped not to run into.

"I'm late for work, and I need a ride. I can walk home, I just need a ride there, and I can't drive myself or I'll get a stern talking to from Xavier."

"Yeah, sure," Sam conceded, knowing that he had nothing better to do.

Sitting in the car, most of the short drive was spent in silence.

"I hate this job…" Tabby said, trying to make conversation as she watched Sam's dejected face with interest. "I would quit if it weren't for the fact that I need the money to pay the rent at Xavier's. Putting up with this for a few hours every week is worth a home."

"Yeah" Sam agreed half-heartedly. A few more seconds of silence passed before he spoke up. "Thanks, Tabby."

"For what?"

"Not telling anyone else about… the club." Sam felt embarrassed about the whole thing now. What could have possessed them to start a club that was so stupid? So incredibly juvenile? But it didn't matter now… they wouldn't be meeting anymore.

"Sam, like I said earlier, you didn't have anything to worry about. I'll make fun of you myself, but you guys are mine to make fun of. I mean, sure, if the moment was really opportune I might have spilled the beans…" Tabby looked away at this, musing, before snapping back to reality. "But I didn't. We all do stupid stuff sometimes. I mean, look at me! I run away to the Brotherhood, only to get kicked out when their ringleader showed back up. And you don't want to know where I was living before Xavier talked me into coming back."

Sam nodded. She wasn't a student at Xavier's anymore, technically, but was living there on the condition that she match the hours the others put into training at her work. Xavier had tried to talk her into coming back on as a member of the younger team, but Tabitha was not ready to commit herself to anything like that again. Maybe someday, but for now she was just a roommate to Amara and a house mate to the others.

"Well, here we are," Sam announced, pulling up to the grocery where Tabby worked. "You can give me a call if you want a ride home."

"Thanks, cutie!" Tabby said, hopping out. "You're a sweetie." She leaned in through the open window of the passenger door which she had just closed and ruffled his hair playfully. "I'll try to get Amara to realize it." At that, she turned and went into work, leaving Sam a little stunned.

She had noticed? How? He hadn't thought he was being that obvious, but maybe he had been after all. Thinking back, he realized how obvious he must have been to everybody except himself (and hopefully Amara). But Bobby didn't realize…

Sam shook his head. None of it was worth it. There was a killer mutant out there who had taken down all the X-Men with one clap of his hands. This was no time to be thinking of love or like or anything. A war was coming…

* * *

A/N: all done! (finally...) Be sure to read Jamie and the Argonauts!!

P.S. This is the updated version of the chapter. I had written this a LONG long time before I posted it, and some of the character moves were just bad (as you will note from the comment I got). Not quite as bad as I portrayed Scott in "Tacky Tuesday" (he can be a mean sex-driven jerk, right?) but still bad.


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